A Multifaceted Holistic Review of the Literature on Scar Dermatoses

Many cutaneous diseases originate or manifest in scars. Scars are areas of compromised skin, which renders them a vulnerable cutaneous district for diseases to develop. The pathophysiology explaining why some dermatoses grow in scars is not yet thoroughly explored. The present study reviews the present literature on scar dermatoses. Three phenomena outline scar dermatoses. The first one is Köbner phenomenon, which is the appearance of new lesions on previously-healthy skin following trauma, where the new lesions are of the same type that the patient is known to have. The second one is Wolf's isotopic response, or the appearance of a new dermatosis in an area previously affected by then healed from a different dermatosis. The third one is Renbök phenomenon, where the appearance of a new dermatosis reverses the effect of an older one in a localised skin area. This article discusses the mechanisms as well as examples of each phenomenon. In addition, the pathological plethora arising from scars can be divided into several categories: inflammatory, autoimmune, neoplastic, and other miscellaneous diseases including infectious. Detailed examples and documented case reports on each are discussed in this article. Since many scar dermatoses are crucial to be recognised due to their potential burden on patients' health, this article is of utmost significance to dermatologists to get familiar with these diseases, to allow early diagnoses and management plans. It also educates patients to routinely check their scars and detect any of the multiple changes that can occur.